Rogue Horse
by mmichaela
Summary: A closer look at Lisa's first appearance on Heartland, 1x03 Breaking Free.
1. Chapter 1

I had my phone answered and up to my ear before I even fully realised it had been ringing, stress and exhaustion had me working on complete auto-pilot it seemed.

"Lisa, hi, it's Scott."

"Oh hi Scott, it's good to hear from you."

"Listen, I'm at Heartland right now, with Amy Fleming. Remember, the trainer I told you might be able to help Promise?"

"Yes, yes I remember." During his last visit, just after Briar Ridge had sent Promise back he had told me in passing that he knew someone who might help. I had also spoken to Nick Harwell, she had successfully treated one of his horses. He had nothing but good things to say about this Amy Fleming.

Her mother had made a name for herself locally, taking in abandoned and troubled horses. I couldn't say I was very familiar with her methods, I just knew what I heard, a faith healer by all accounts although I took that with a grain of salt. I'd never had much reason to try such methods. I didn't deal with troubled horses, the tried and true methods of saddling and training a young horse had always worked. Until now, and Promise was already 'broken-in' per-say. I sighed internally, I knew Promise wasn't a rogue horse, whatever Val Stanton and her trainers might say. Briar Ridge had been a last resort at best. As inexperienced as I was with non-traditional methods, I was all too familiar with Val's firm hand. I was at my wits end.

"She says she'd love to come see Promise, if you're free right now," Scott's voice on the other end of the phone broke off my train of thought.

I glanced at the clock on the wall, I had plenty of time before Dan was due to arrive to go assess a horse in Calgary. "Sure, I'd love to meet her, anyone who thinks they can help this horse I am more than happy to meet."

"We'll be there within the hour." I could hear the smile in Scott's voice, he'd probably picked up on my slightly exasperated tone.

I lay the phone back down on my desk and dropped my head into my hands, elbows propped up on the desk. This Amy Fleming really was my last hope. I was at a loss, I didn't know how I was going to tell my friend I couldn't keep her horse. What would I say? _Yeah sorry, you sold me a wonderful horse with a perfect temperament and by all appearances I've turned her rogue._ Just great.

I glanced up to see my head groom passing my door.

"Sam," I called him in.

"Yeah Lisa?" He leaned over the threshold, one hand on the door handle, the other on the door frame.

"Scott just called, he's gonna drop by with someone to look at Promise in the next hour, could you get her ready to be in the top ring with one of the trainers when they arrive?"

"I thought Briar Ridge was your last hope?" he raised his brows.

I sighed, "Me too, but Scott seems to have a good feeling about this, so what have I got to lose?"

"Besides more money on a horse that how many stables now have written off as a lost cause?" he said wryly.

I raised a brow at him doubtfully. "You know as well as I do Promise isn't a lost cause, she's not rogue, or even mean. You know that."

He shrugged, "I know, I'm just reminding you of the facts."

I couldn't bring myself to be angry at his bluntness. What he was saying was true. "What can I do, Sam? I'm not giving up on her yet. Who knows? Maybe this Amy Fleming can do something the others couldn't." I had to hope at least.

"Amy Fleming? Any relation to Marion Fleming? The woman that died in that awful accident a while back?"

"Daughter, from what I gather. Do you know much about her?"

"Marion? Sure, she had a gift. A way with horses, so to speak. Some people said horse-whisperer, but-"

"Yeah I'd heard that too."

"I wouldn't buy that though. I went to one of her clinics with a friend a few years back. She was incredible, I guess it could look like horse whispering to some. But she just seemed to understand the horse, as if she was… I don't know, letting _it_ tell _her_ what it needed, if that even makes sense." He shook his head slightly. "Maybe you're right, if her daughter has even a smidge of the ability I saw in Marion, who knows? Maybe she will help Promise."

"I hope you're right Sam, I really do."

"I'll go find someone to prepare Promise."

"Thanks Sam, and let me know when you see Scott's truck arrive."

"Will do."

I was too tired to fire up the computer and get any work done in the meantime. As a pretence of productivity I took out my schedule and flicked to the coming week and stared blankly at the overflowing pages, twirling a pen in my hand.

By the time Sam returned to announce Scott's arrival I could feel a headache coming on putting me in an irritable mood, coupled with my annoyance at myself for doing nothing productive with the last half hour of my time, it was a struggle to force a pleasant smile on my face as I stood to leave my office.

"Harry is in the top ring with Promise." Sam said at the door before departing towards the barn to attend to the rest of his duties.

"Thanks." My reply fell short as he was already on his way. Sighing, I lowered my sunglasses over my eyes before stepping out into the sun, the last thing I needed was a full-blown headache for the rest of the day. Dealing with Dan could be difficult enough on a good day.

I walked briskly towards the main courtyard and caught sight of two waiting figures in the shade of some trees.

"Hi Lisa," Scott greeted me when I reached them.

"Scott." I nodded before extending my hand to the girl. "I'm Lisa Stillman, you must be Amy Fleming."

"It's nice to meet you." she replied, shaking my hand in return. It was only when I heard her voice that it struck me how young she seemed. I realised my sunglasses were still in place, I quickly perched them on top of my head to see clearly. _Oh my, she really was young._

"How old are you?"

"I'm almost sixteen."

"Hmm." I stalled for a moment, looking at Scott, what on earth had he gotten me into? He remained obstinately silent and appeared almost amused. "Uh… Promise is a very valuable horse. I'm afraid I can't let her go to a fifteen year old." I felt a twinge of guilt but what could I do?

"I've treated valuable horses before, Mrs. Stillman." I tried not to flinch at ' _Mrs_ Stillman', "I just worked with Star, Nick Harwell's horse."

I knew that, but still… He didn't mention how young she was. _No one_ had thought to mention how young she was.

"I did speak with Nick. He did sing your praises, but…"

She interrupted me there, "My mother taught me. She was a horse trainer."

"Yes, your mother the horse-whisperer," Ouch, that came out wrong. I hadn't meant to sound condescending, I didn't even think she was a horse whisperer-the phrase had just stuck in my mind from my conversation with Sam. Too late now, the words were out and they hung in the air.

"My mother didn't whisper to horses, she listened to them." Her words echoed what Sam had said about Marion seeming to let the horse speak to her. He hadn't been far off the mark after all.

The young girl had such a determined look in her eyes as she waited for my response I was almost taken aback. This wasn't a girl who would give up easily. Something in the stubborn set of her jaw combined with the unassuming yet blunt nature reminded me of myself when I had taken over this business after my father died. Despite being originally off-put by how young she was, my gut was telling me this girl might actually be able to help Promise.

"Ok." I found myself smiling. "OK, I like your attitude." _Stop being so snobbish Lisa, if Scott says she's good, she's good. Who cares if she's a bit young? "_ You want to see her?"

"Sure."

I led her to the ring where Promise and Harry were waiting. "So you've taken over your mum's business?" I queried as we walked, I had to admit I was curious, "I heard about the accident at the time, I'm so sorry."

"Thank you. Yeah, I used to help her with the horses she treated and I always sort of figured I'd continue it."

"I didn't really mean what I said, the horse-whisperer thing, someone put words in my mouth." I felt it was necessary to apologise, I couldn't stand starting off on such a bad note, it didn't make for good business. "Although I am curious as to what your techniques are, what your mother's techniques were."

"That's ok, a lot of people don't understand at first. Our methods aren't exactly widely used, or known." She replied graciously. "Like I said, our primary aim is to do what a lot of people seem to forget, _listen_ to the horse. Almost every time the horse knows what's wrong and what can be done to put it right, you just need to listen." Her confidence grew as she spoke.

I nodded. She was right, listening was something most people forget to do, myself included I had to admit. It was too easy in my business to see all the horses that come and go as mere passing entities. I rarely thought about it any further, I couldn't really. There were so many, most were here one week, sold and shipped the next. It wasn't always ideal, but it's the way it was.

My face must have betrayed my line of thought because she quickly continued. "I mean a lot of it is obvious, we do it without noticing. Knowing when a horse is content is just as important and most people listen to and acknowledge those cues subconsciously. It's just when a horse acts up people often resort to trying to dominate, they forget that they _can_ listen."

I was slightly taken aback at the young girl's wisdom, for a fifteen year old she had a level head on her shoulders. I smiled at her. "Well you certainly know a lot about what you do."

She smiled shyly, "My mom knew a lot more."

"Trust me, you're doing alright… and you have plenty of time to learn."

She was about to reply when her eyes flickered forward and caught sight of Promise in the training ring ahead. "Is that her?" She asked, almost excited.

"Mm-hmm," I smiled, avoiding Scott's amused expression at Amy's enthusiasm. Amy stood on the bottom rung of the railing to admire her.

"She's beautiful."

"She sure is." I agreed, motioning towards Harry to begin.

"She doesn't look aggressive."

"No, she doesn't, not till you try and ride her." We watched as Harry attempted to saddle Promise, as usual she was having none of it and lashing out to prove her point. Harry grasped the lead rope tightly as she spun and veered to avoid the saddle.

"Was she fine at her last home?"

"Absolutely, I bought her about six months ago from an elderly friend of mine, whose grandson rode her, who was blind, and she couldn't say enough about how gentle Promise was. But she is just the opposite of gentle here. Briar Ridge already gave up on her, said that she's a rogue horse and I just don't believe it."

Harry was still struggling with her in the ring. "Harry, let's stop." I called out. "Let her calm down."

"Ok." came his tired reply.

I turned back to Amy, "So what do you think, can you help her?"

She was eyeing Promise somewhat apprehensively, "I'd love to try, I just don't know how long it would take."

"You know what? I don't care how long it takes, I just want the horse to be alright." She was nodding slightly to herself. "So yes?" I pushed once more.

"Yes." She extended her hand.

"OK." A real smile spread across my face as I shook her hand. It was a weight lifted off my shoulders, I actually had a good feeling about it this time. Maybe I could finally get a full night's sleep without stressing over my very own "rogue horse".


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: This was originally intended to be a one-shot but I got quite a few requests to continue it so here's a second chapter, with possibly more to follow. Also you may have noticed i switched from the first person back to my usual third person habits for this, I just feel it suits this type of writing more.

* * *

"Ben I'm sorry, I only-"

"Don't bother Lisa," he cut off her explanation mid-sentence, continuing in a bored tone. "It's not a big deal, I just thought that since you said you were coming this time that you might actually follow through. I get it though, this is important to you-your rogue horse is finally cured. I'm happy for you." He didn't look too happy.

Lisa sighed. She knew he was mad, and not without reason. _I did tell him I would take him to this show, to watch him compete. Not only that but I cancelled at the last possible minute, too._

Ben had been staying at Fairfield over a month already and Lisa still hadn't been able to make any of the other shows, what with meetings, business trips and horse-sales, her schedule was always overpacked in the summer months. If she was honest with herself, she was beginning to wonder had she made a mistake in thinking she could take him in for the summer. He'd grown up a lot since he used to spend weekends here as a kid. _He's even more strong-willed than he used to be, to put it mildly._

He abruptly stood from the table, the chair scraping loudly on the hardwood floor. "I better get Red and the trailer ready."

He turned to leave. "Ben, wait-"

He paused at the doorway and Lisa continued, "Good luck, and remember to steady Red on those final jumps-you'll do great." A poor attempt she had to admit but he shot her an almost unnoticeable smile in response this time before leaving.

Lisa dropped her head into her hands. When Amy took on Promise, her relief was short lived. She had hoped that by now Ben would have settled in more and they'd be getting along better. No such luck, if anything, things were worse.

When Amy called only a few days after she'd taken on Promise to say she'd had a breakthrough Lisa could hardly believe it, she had wanted to see it right away. Unfortunately, she'd been on a three day business trip in Quebec. She had arrived home the night before in time for Ben's show with a message on her machine from Amy; she was having an open day and wanted to use Promise to show what they do at Heartland, giving Lisa her chance to see what progress Amy had made.

She stood up, dumping her coffee mug in the sink. _I can't blame Ben for being annoyed, really. I offered for him to come here for the summer so he could avoid the all-round mess of his parents' divorce. But now things are just as crazy here, it's no wonder he's frustrated._

As she was rinsing the dishes that had accumulated in the sink the front door slammed and there were fast footsteps in the hallway. Seconds later, Ben was standing in the doorway, "The trailer's gone."

"What?!" Lisa turned quickly, her wet hands dripping on the hardwood floor.

"It's not outside, one of the stable hands said they saw it leave earlier this morning." he said, seemingly resigned.

"Why on earth? Why wou- oh, oh no." realisation dawned on Lisa. She reached behind her for the dish towel to dry her hands.

"What?"

"Andy was going to go get that interior light fixed this weekend, and when I told Sam I wasn't going today he must've thought you weren't either and told Andy to take it this morning."

Lisa looked at the clock on the wall. "Ok, I'm going to find Sam, get Red ready. I'll sort this out."

He raised an eyebrow doubtfully but Lisa pretended not to notice as she passed him in the doorway, barely thinking to drop the dish towel on the table on her way.

Out in the yard Lisa squinted in the sun, trying to catch a glimpse of Sam-or anyone who could point her in his direction. She walked quickly in the direction of the upper training ring, where Sam could usually be found with one horse or another at this time. As she drew closer she could see she was in luck, Sam was there.

"Sam," she reached the fence and called him over.

"What's up?" Sam said, walking towards her, a young mare following obediently by his side on a lead rope.

"Did Andy take the trailer this morning?"

"Yeah, you said you weren't going to the show today so I thought it would be a good time to finally get that light fixed."

"I'm sorry Sam, when I said I wasn't going I meant just me, Ben is still going. Well, he was, but now the trailer's gone." Lisa watched as her words sunk in.

"Dammit." Sam hissed, "I'm sorry Lisa, I should've checked with you first."

"It's not your fault." Lisa said, "In any case, I didn't come here to berate you for it, we need to figure out how to get Ben to the show or he might just pack his bags and leave."

"Would that be such a bad thing?"

Lisa arched her brow at him, "I know he isn't always the easiest company, but I told my sister I'd look out for him, and he deserves a break from the mess at home."

"I know, I know." Sam nodded, eyes downturned, "Some manners would be nice every now and again though."

"I cant argue with you there." She met his eyes before continuing on, "Anyway, I know we had it down in the books for Stella to collect those two yearlings from Calgary this morning, but I was thinking; you're taking the four horse trailer to Queenstown around lunch time, for the two Thoroughbreds?"

"Yeah," said Sam, "Busy weekend, it was the only trailer free for the trip."

"Okay," Lisa nodded, "If you could leave earlier than scheduled and take a detour to Calgary for the yearlings, before heading to Queenstown, that would free up a trailer for Ben and Red. It's not exactly ideal, but it's all I can think of."

Sam was nodding thoughtfully, "Yeah, yeah that'll work. I'm just about finished here anyway, I'll go say it to Stella."

"Great, thanks Sam, I really appreciate it. I'll make a call to the owners, let them know who to expect and when."

Lisa turned away from the ring and caught sight of Ben heading into the main barn.

"Ben!"

He turned and Lisa hastened in his direction. She was talking before she even stopped walking, "I moved around a few things in the books and freed up a trailer for you, is Red ready to go?"

"Yeah, we're all set."

"Bring him out, I'll bring the trailer 'round."

As Lisa crossed the yard once again, this time in the direction of the garage, she sighed to herself. This morning had turned out more stressful than she had anticipated. In fact, the same could be said for the last few weeks in general, Lisa realised.

By the time Lisa had brought the trailer around to the barn, seen Ben off(there may even have been a semi-sincere thank you before he pulled off, if she wasn't mistaken) and made it back to her office to contact the owners of the horses Stella and Sam were going to pick up, the morning had passed without her noticing it.

Returning the phone to the cradle Lisa cast a glance at the time for the first time since she had gotten up that morning. _Dammit!_

She was late for the open house. _Why is everything hell-bent on going against me today,_ she thought exasperatedly, grabbing her car keys from the desk and rushing out of the office.

On the drive to Heartland Lisa allowed her thoughts to wander for the first time that morning, it was the first 'free' time she had had since her flight came in the night before.

Somehow or another her thoughts came on Amy and how she had lost her mother. Since Amy had taken on Promise, Lisa had pieced together a little more of who she was. She learned from one of her long-time employees at Fairfield that Marion Fleming was actually the daughter of Jack Bartlett, famed Hudson cowboy, who was now raising Amy it would seem.

 _And doing a damn good job,_ Lisa mused recalling her encounter with the young girl. _How does he manage it? I can't even get a read on Ben, and I used to be his 'cool Aunt Lisa'... My god how things change._

Pulling into the Heartland ranch Lisa marvelled at the simple beauty of the place, the rolling hills on either side, with grazing horses and cows, and the mountains not far beyond- it was most definitely Alberta. The yard was full of cars and Lisa quickly pulled into a space between two trucks.

 _Little tight,_ she thought, only able to partially open her door and squeeze out. Looking around she spotted a group of people beyond the barn and quickly strode in that direction. As she drew near she could see Amy, above the heads of those in the crowd, cantering smoothly around the ring.

 _Is that Promise?!_ Lisa could hardly believe it. When Amy said she had made a breakthrough Lisa didn't really know what she was expecting but it definitely wasn't this. Amy was now at a standstill, seated calmly astride Promise, whose ears were pricked and eyes alert, calmly taking in the crowd before her, unperturbed by the rider on her back.

She could see Amy was talking to the crowd but by the time she was close enough to hear her, another voice had cut in, "Well I'd say the horse is drugged. Oldest trick in the book, get a rogue horse, sedate him, make it look like you've worked a miracle."

Val Stanton. Lisa knew that self-assured voice, and should've known Val would be here to see if Amy really had done what Briar Ridge couldn't, and try to undermine it of course.

Lisa had reached the edge if the small crowd now and could hear Amy's indignant reply, "I would never drug a horse."

"There were no drugs used-" Lisa slipped between two people to reach the edge of the ring, "-I can vouch for that." She looked pointedly in Val's direction, no doubt she hadn't expected Lisa to show at all as she hadn't arrived on time. "Amy's just a very talented young woman with a special gift.." She nodded appreciatively at Amy to let her know she meant it.

Amy hardly had time to return a grateful smile before Val piped up again, "OK Amy, I paid top dollar for a horse that refuses to jump, why don't you show us how you can fix him?"

Lisa exhaled in exasperation, _Oh for god's sake._

"I- I cant just-"

"Come on, you say you can fix behavioural problems, show us."

This time a voice across the ring spoke up, "Val, this is ridiculous, you cant ask her to work miracles in two seconds in front of a crowd!"

Lou Fleming, Amy's older sister, Lisa presumed. Meaning the vaguely familiar face next to her was their grandfather, Jack Bartlett.

Val looked straight at Amy now, "Isn't that what horse whisperers do?"

"I am not a horse-whisperer, I've never claimed to be!" Amy's features hardened and she didn't break eye contact with Val.

Lisa smiled, that was most definitely the girl she had seen at Fairfield. _Good for her, Val Stanton is a ruthless piece of work when she wants to be._

Lisa watched Amy exchange a look with Jack, who nodded solemnly. _Now that's a healthy, respectful relationship,_ Lisa couldn't help but think and draw comparison once again to herself and Ben. _What am I doing wrong?_

Amy's voice interrupted her thoughts, "Ok, I'll ride him." There was a grim look of determination on her face that somehow erased any doubt for Lisa in her ability to fix Val's so-called problem horse. _I know now, if anyone can do what seems impossible, Amy can._


End file.
